Conventionally, a testing apparatus for internal combustion engines is such that an internal combustion engine is placed on a pallet and delivered together with the pallet to a testing unit and, after being subjected to the required performance test, it is removed, together with the pallet, from the testing unit. Known testing apparatuses of this sort include those of the turntable system and those of the in-line system. These known systems have the following drawbacks, which will be more fully discussed hereinafter with reference to some of the accompanying drawings.
In the case of the turntable system, a signal transmitter-receiver unit for signals necessary for operating the testing apparatus is centrally provided on the turntable, and therefore the turntable must be large enough to provide the space for the transmitter-receiver unit, with the result that the apparatus as a whole is considerably expensive. Another problem with the turntable system is that signal transmission/reception is made through a trolley type arrangement which cannot perform any mass transmission/reception; therefore, only operating signals for the testing apparatus can be sent and received and no test data can be sent/received. As such, large amounts of data must be stored in testing sections on the turntable, which means that the testing sections are large-sized and costly.
These problems can be solved by employing the in-line system, but this in-line system involves long lines of testing units, which naturally means longer time required for transmission and reception, a larger number of wire connections involved, and longer time required for repair in case of trouble or failure. Furthermore, since all test data are sent to a control unit remote from the testing sections, operators engaged in testing operation at the testing sections cannot grasp the details of the data and, therefore, they cannot promptly react to any defective products or the like.